The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1887-07-08
FRIDAY. JULY s. 1887.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

In a supplement to THIS issue OUT
readers are given the full text of the
Constitution born of the recent upris-
ing Of a large body Of influential elias
ses Of tic community, to demand the
redress Of grievances and the Inaugural.
ton Of good government in place Of
long regime of mal-administration.
Until the instrument has been before
the people little while, and pending
some experience Of its operation under
the administration OF a Cabinet identl.
fed with its birth, it is well, perhaps,
not to review il too closely. As strik-
iug the happy medium between the
views Of conservative element, who
would have been satisfied with the
promise rather than push the perform
ance Of constitutional reform, and the
views Of a radical element, who would
have Internationally and unreservedly
followed up the advantage gained by
the tremendous demonstration Of peo-
pies righteous indignation last week,
to the point Of the sweeping away every
vestige Of system under which enor-
nous abuses had grown up TO over.
shadow the land; looked at we say,
as a compromise between the differing
sections just mentioned, there can be
only one opinion uttered, and that is
that the revision Of the Constitution
has been very successfully executed
There are still portions. OF machinery
remaining which had been under the
late era OF misgovernmert put 70 out
rageous uses, but the new chart Of
fundamental law must be examined as
whole and then it will, we hor-, be
found to contain effective checks upon
the mischievous capabilities Of the
mechanism referred to under other
conditions. Perhaps, however, it
would have been better if there had
been a more radical reorganization Of
the system, one combining both in
creased simplicity and diminished
responsibility in the direction Of AZ
fairs. AS matter Of public rights, for
instance, the polongatien Of the exist
ence Of the Kings Priyy Council Of
State, as an active appendage to
the Executive, may be regarded as
something to be seriously questioned.
Still there may be reasons Of expedi.
ency to be urged for an extended lease
Of life to that body, While il con-
tains members whom free and
enlightened electorate would never
choose as representative men
on their merits, yet it COM
prises others having large expert
ence both Of the country and its public
affairs, who may be exceedingly useful
counsellors but be impossible to bring
out as candidates to serve the country
in either legislative branch. The abol-
ition Of the House Of Mobiles as a
body Of legislators appointed for life,
whether they performed their functions
faithfully or habitually neglected them,
should meet with general appreciation.
That branch Of the Legislature had
sadly run to seed. Its members who
could be relied upon, when their help
in the nations extremity was most re-
quired, could be counted twice on one
hand. AS limited above, we should pre-
fer to let patience get in some Of her
perfect work for the present. while the
operations Of the new system under a
new directorate are observed for a
while. At the same time il must
be conceded on all hands, that
the revised Constitution on the
face Of it marks prodigious forward
stride in Hawaiian liberty. Reforms,
hoeted and spurned over and over
again out Of corrupt and servile Leg
islature, are obtained at one stroke
when demanded by long sleeping as
well as long-sufering, but now aroused
and no longer passive community Of
freemen